Monday, February 22, 2010

Thinking Out Of The Box

Several years ago, our church presented my dad with a gift on his birthday. It was a plaque with a little gold box attached to the front of it. On top of the box was a little gold stick-figured man. The little man was leaning forward and resting his chin in his hands ( you may have seen it in a Sky Mall catalog). The plaque read "Thinking out of the box". This message was significant, because my Dad had been preaching about "thinking out of the box".

The other day I was listening to a woman, Donna Gates (age 60), speak about the women of this generation. She said that the women of this generation are not willing to blindly follow and do whatever their doctors or experts say. The women of this generation are willing to go, find, and do whatever it takes to heal their children.

One day while in our pediatrician's office, I asked the nurse practitioner if Annabelle's extreme lack of nutrition might have anything to do with her developmental delays (If you read the first post you would know that Annabelle has always eaten very little, if any).

She scrunched up her nose and said, "No. Those thing are usually permanent from birth. Food doesn't really have anything to do with it."

Imagine the possibilities, if one doctor over the last 3 years would have advised us to give Annabelle Cod Liver Oil, or any other supplements for that matter. . . instead of implying that she was simply spoiled and picky. Now that we know Annabelle has a Sensory Integration Disorder, and possibley STILL has reflux . . Is it possible that she would have developed at a steadier rate???

Her brain was essentially starving.

The following is an excerpt from generationrescue.org.

Childhood Neurological Disorders (NDs) are typically diagnosed by professionals with psychology and psychiatry backgrounds. Parents are often told that their child's diagnosis is the result of genes and is psychological in nature. Typical "psychological" manifestations of these NDs in children may include delayed speech, lack of eye contact, impaired or non-present social skills, shyness, perseverative behavior (doing the same thing over and over), delayed gross or fine motor skills, sensory integration issues (sound and touch sensitivity, etc.), not responding to one's name, inflexibility with transitions, and major, often unexplained changes in mood.

Yet, the physical or medical issues that our children often share are rarely noted or discussed. Typical physical manifestations of chldren with NDs may include food allergies and eczema, general gastrointestinal distress, constipation and diarrhea, immune disregulation, and sleep disturbances.
Typically, proper testing would also reveal high levels of environmental toxins relative to neurotypical children.

What has happened to our children? We believe our children's bodies are overwhelmed by a combination of heavy metals (mercury, lead aluminum), live viruses (particular from their vacccines), and bacteria. These toxins serve to slow or shut down normal biochemical pathways in the body and lead to the physical and mental manifestations we call NDs. Perhaps the best description of what happens to our children that we have read is Autism: A Twisted Tale of Virus and Thimerosal, by Dr. Amy Yasko.

Biomedical intervention for NDs is based on the belief that the psychological symptoms of NDs are a product of the physical issues the child is experiencing and that addressing the physical issues will lead to an improvement in those psychological symptoms. (We were very pleased to read the recent cover story in Discover Magazine that clearly spells out that autism is "not just in the head" but may actually originate in the gut and environmental toxins.)

The ultimate goal of biomedical treatment is to remove environmental toxins from your child's body and repair the damage that has been done.

Neurological Disorders in children are growing at a rate well in excess of population growth and are not the result of better diagnostic criteria.

And yet, the popular press is constantly spreading the same tired myths about autism and other NDs. Namely:- There is no known cure.- Recovered children are almost never acknowledged despite their growing numbers.

I will be posting about nutrition, cleansing, Annabelle's symptoms and progress, and any formal diagnosis. I personally have gleaned so much from other mothers who have posted their child's symptoms and what has helped them. While there is a huge list of symptoms for autism, Annabelle only has a few of them. As for the physical symptoms associated with children on the autism spectrum, Annabelle has all of them. Doctors do not talk to you about these physical symptomsand you won't find them on the conventional list of symptoms.

As a parent, you are your child's advocate. Don't be afraid to look outside of the box. Diagnosis: We are still on that long wait to see the neurologist.

Update: We have an appointment with a DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor on the 15th of March! So excited! These doctors test the children for allergies, sensitivities, and toxins. Three weeks!